A hero
by Ranowa Hikura
Summary: Oneshot; Harry and Minerva go to tell the Creevey's about Colin's death after Deathly Hallows. Not romantic and not strictly accurate with canon.


Well, I really wanted to make this a follow-up chapter to 'Secrecy', but I just couldn't see Severus doing this. So instead, it's McGonagall and Harry- just friends, not romantic. After Deathly Hallows, they go to tell Colin Creevey's parents about his death.

"I don't think I can do this, professor," Harry announced, right after the pair had apparated within a walking distance of the Creeveys' house.

"You volunteered to come with me; you need to follow through with this and do what you need to do. And I'm not your professor anymore, Harry," Minerva said before adjusting her Muggle clothes as they stepped out of the alleyway and began to walk down the street. "Honestly, how did you wear these clothes all summer long?" she asked, straightening the uncomfortable jacket. "They're insufferable!"

He shrugged weakly and smiled. "You get used to it," Harry said absentmindedly, allowing his thoughts to drift towards Colin Creevey.

Admittedly, in his second year, Harry had thought Colin was simply annoying. During the Triwizard Tournament, Colin's incessant chants of support for him had been a little touching, considering most of the school had hated him at the time, but it wasn't like he and Colin had ever been friends. But in the end, Colin had remained behind at Hogwarts and fought against Voldemort… and ended up losing his life.

The raw pain from the deaths of the countless others- and the even worse torture of seeing the living who had loved the dead- was so much greater than the guilt he felt over Colin's death. And that's what was bothering him.

Colin had died for the freedom of wizards, for the triumph of good over evil… for Harry. Everyone in that school that night had died for the war against Voldemort; had died, even without knowing it, to give Harry enough time to find and destroy all the Horcruxes. Not just that night; over Voldemort's whole reign of terror, thousands of people, both wizards and muggles alike, had died. All while he had just been traveling through the wild with his friends- nine months of traveling, and for what? They had destroyed one Horcrux on that journey. Sure, they'd found the cup, but only just before he and his friends had returned to Hogwarts and fought the final battle. Thousands of people had died in his place… and Colin was one of them.

Harry wanted to apologize to each and every one of the families that had been left broken, shattered forever; that he was so, so sorry… for everything. He couldn't do that; so he would just have to settle for this.

Minerva was here because she had taught Colin for six years; she knew him better than Harry did. She could comfort his parents… he would be the one apologizing.

This was a poor neighborhood; nothing like the streets Harry had grown up on with the Dursleys. Still, when he knocked on the door and a man who could only be Colin's father invited them inside, he couldn't hold back a hint of jealously.

All over the walls were pictures of Colin, his parents, and a younger boy who had to be Colin's little bother. All pictures of a happy family, without any little boy shoved off to the side, too thin and too raggedy and never looking quite like he belonged there. It was clear that Colln was loved in this house, something Harry never had been at the Dursley's.

"You must be Harry Potter!" Colin's father exclaimed as he led Harry and Minerva into the living room. "Our son talks about you all the time!"

"Oh, yes. After his first year there, he showed us all these pictures of you and talked about how you defeated a huge snake- it sounds a little like an exaggeration, but then, what would I know about the wizarding world?" a woman in her late thirties, maybe early forties added excitedly.

Minerva nodded slightly. "Actually, he did kill a basilisk that year. Though that's not a common occurrence, not even in our world."

His mother laughed and smiled. "Well, he's always told amazing stories about that school. Although this past year, he's included less and less in his letters back home- he always tell us not to worry and says he's doing well in school, but no more stories about Harry Potter or… anything, really. This past year has been hard on everybody- even his little brother, Aaron. We haven't told him yet that Colin really goes off and learns how to be a wizard each year."

"Yes- and, while it'd be wonderful if Aaron ended up being as talented as his brother, we do hope that he's not magical like Colin. We've missed him growing up- but he'll be home more often after next year, when he graduates," his father said with a wide grin, prompting both Harry and Minerva to look away uncomfortably.

"So, to what do we owe the pleasure? I'm sorry the place is such a mess, by the way, we would've cleaned up if we had known you were coming. I'm assuming you're Professor McGonagall, by the way?" Mrs. Creevey asked Minerva. "Colin's talked a lot about you as well."

Minerva nodded with a sad sigh. "That's me. And while we would love to stay and chat… Harry and I are actually here with some bad news." She looked at Harry, then, silently telling him with her somber gaze that she could tell the Creevys; he didn't have to say anything.

But he did. He has to be the one to say this.

Harry swallowed nervously and wiped a bead of sweat off his brow, forcing himself to look at the two worried parents. They both looked concerned, probably thinking that Colin had been injured in a freak magical accident. Well, it was magical, but it wasn't an accident… and Colin was a lot worse than injured. "Several years ago, a wizard who we all thought to be dead returned. His name is…_ was_… Voldemort." It was las if a cold wind blew through the room when Harry said the dark wizard's name; everybody shivered and looked around apprehensively- even though he was dead, never to return, they couldn't be blamed for fearing his memory. After all, he'd been believed to be dead for over ten years before he returned in his fourth year. The suspicion that Voldemort was still alive, just gathering strength and biding his time, would remain for years. "Last year, his followers took over Hogwarts. A resistance formed at the school against him- Coin was a part of it. You should be proud of him."

Minerva, who knew this story much better than Harry did, continued there. "Colin helped many of the younger students survive under the new regime and even though it would of been better for him if he had dropped out of the resistance, he never did. He continued to stand up for what was right, all the way until the wizarding world banded together and rose up against Voldemort."

"We tried to have your son leave," Harry said softly, flashing back to the moment when Minerva had tried to send everybody under age to safety. "He wasn't of adult age and it was going to be the end to a violent war; we didn't think he was skilled enough to remain behind and fight the Death Eaters- Voldemort's followers- with us. But he insisted on staying. He refused to flee and stayed to fight."

By now, there was both pride and horror in the Creeveys' eyes… they knew where this was going. But there was disbelief, too; they weren't ready to believe that their sixteen year old son was dead.

Harry sighed and forced himself to keep talking. "He fought valiantly. He made a difference, and we won the battle, the war, but… Colin was killed."

They didn't believe him at first. They couldn't; how could they just sit there and accept the fact that the son they had barely seen for five years who was on the verge of returning home for good was now gone? That their _son_ was dead? And after the few slow, painful minutes of denial had passed, they were angry. They wanted to hit Harry and Minerva, to scream at them, and it was here that Harry at least had the pleasure of telling them that Colin's murderer had been killed as well.

It was when Colin's mother had burst into tears when a young, innocent voice interrupted the Creevey's grieving. "Mommy? What's wrong?"

All four turned to look at the newcomer, a little boy who couldn't be older than eight or nine- a little miniature version of Colin.

Aaron.

His parents tried to formulate a response, but Harry stopped them. "I've got it," he said quickly, getting to his feet and moving quickly across the room to Aaron. "Hi. I'm Harry," he said, taking the little boy's hand and leading him away from his parents.

Aaron tugged weakly on his hand and looked back at his parents. "Harry, what's wrong with my parents? Why are they so sad?"

Telling his parents the truth was one thing, but the poor kid was so young. He didn't even know that his brother was a wizard- how could Harry tell him how Colin had really died?

"Well," he finally said, "They just got some bad news… Aaron, what do you know about where your brother goes each year?"

Clearly surprised at the mention of Colin, Aaron shrugged innocently and said, "Mommy and Daddy say that he goes off to a special school where he learns how to help people. They even said I might get to go when I get older, too! But why would Colin make Mommy and Daddy so sad?"

"Well… your brother was helping people this year more than ever, Aaron. He saved people's lives."

"Really?" Aaron gasped in excitement. "My big brother?"

Harry nodded and forced himself to smile. "Yes. All year long, Colin has been helping so many people and a couple night's ago, he helped save lives. He fought against an evil man."

"Wow! Did he win?"

Harry sighed sadly and fondly patted the boy on the head. "Yes. He won, but… he's not going to be able to come home now. He's in a better place."

Aaron's face fell and he looked away for a moment. "That's what Mommy said about our old pet. She said that he was gone, but that he was in a better place."

"And do you believe her?"

Aaron shook his head and glared at him. "I don't care if she's telling me the truth! I don't want Colin to be there! I want him to be here! And it's not fair- how can you know that? How do you know that's he's in a better place?" He asked with a pout, still glaring at him.

"I've been there. And it is a better place. Colin's happy- and he died a hero, Aaron. He died a hero."


End file.
